by BJ Bourg
Since Rick was making his way through our court system, Blackshaw County would have to wait their turn, but we had arrested Melissa soon after receiving the warrant, and she was set to be extradited to Tennessee within the week. Burton and Cindy, who were coping just fine, considering all they’d been through, had gone to live with Rick’s parents in Central Chateau. I dropped in to see them before leaving for Houston with Susan, and they were adjusting to their new environment.
After all of my hard work, I should’ve been relaxing and enjoying my time off, but that was difficult to do while I watched the woman I love getting pummeled.
CHAPTER 54
I was sitting at the edge of my seat in the front row nearest the cage, and I was watching Susan trading blows with Antonina Ivanov. Susan looked as focused as I’d ever seen her, and I couldn’t help but admire her firm body wrapped in her tight fighting shorts and snug-fitting shirt. Even the blood dripping from her nose looked sexy, but I winced as Ivanov connected with a two-punch combination, snapping Susan’s head back.
Damian Conner pounded on the chain-link fence and screamed at Susan to take Ivanov to the ground. “Stop trading with her!” he hollered. “Take her to the ground and finish her!”
Either Susan couldn’t hear or she was ignoring him, because she continued to stalk her opponent. Her hands were high in the air as she doggedly moved forward, but it was impossible for her to block all of the Russian fighter’s strikes. Immediately after Ivanov delivered another three-punch combination, Susan shot a left round kick to her midsection, followed by an overhand right that seemed to rock Ivanov.
I cheered my approval, but sank back in my chair when Ivanov shot a push kick to Susan’s chest that nearly knocked her on her butt. Susan immediately executed a right roundhouse kick to Ivanov’s thigh, and she stumbled as she placed her weight back on it.
Although her doctor had advised her not to fight with a cracked fibula, Susan had stubbornly ignored him. After wearing the cast for two weeks, she had removed it herself and began using a compression wrap for support. While she felt the fracture had mended, Damian devised a game plan around her injury and insisted she avoid executing kicks with her right leg. “And I want you to take her down as soon as you get the chance,” Damian had instructed. “The quicker it goes to the canvass, the better your chances of beating her.”
I’d seen the look in Susan’s eyes when he said it and had groaned. I knew right then that she was going to attempt what no fighter had ever accomplished before—she was going to try and beat Antonina Ivanov at her own game and knock out the undefeated Russian. At the moment, it wasn’t going so great. Susan had just walked into a straight right hand from Ivanov. It was a power punch that had felled many of her previous opponents, but Susan continued forward. I could tell she was stepping a little gingerly on her right leg and her footwork was not as fluid as it had been earlier.
I glanced to my right, where her mother was seated. Lisa Wilson had her hands up to her face and she jerked each time Susan got hit. Mrs. Wilson was a small-framed woman who was timid and appeared frail. Other than the streaks of white, her hair was the same color as Susan’s, and so were her eyes, but that was where the similarities ended for the two women. I didn’t know if she would be able to endure watching this brutal slugfest.
The crowd screamed in excitement and I turned just in time to see Susan delivering the last of a punch-kick combination that knocked Ivanov backward into the cage. The Russian fighter lifted her arms as Susan side-stepped to create an angle and then fired off two more punches. Just when I thought she was going to take charge of the bout, the bell rang to end the first round.
I sank back into my chair and ran my fingers through my hair. Damian hurried into the cage with Takecia Gayle, who had agreed to work Susan’s corner with him, and they wiped the blood from Susan’s face while talking rapidly with her. I could hear Damian pleading with her to take Ivanov to the ground, but Susan didn’t respond. She simply stared across the cage in the direction of her opponent. I got the feeling she’d rather die than take the easy way out of the fight, and that scared the crap out of me.
“Is it always like this?” Lisa asked, leaning close and raising her voice to be heard over the crowd. Her chin was shaking and her face was paler than usual. “Does she always get beat this bad?”
I shook my head. “This is the toughest fight of her career.”
“Oh, dear,” the elderly woman said, wringing her hands and shifting her eyes around the arena. “I don’t know how much more of this my heart can take.”
“Your daughter’s as tough as they come,” I said, trying to reassure both of us. “She’ll be just fine.”
She just nodded and sat on her hands. I looked past her to where Allie and Sammy Boudreaux were sitting, their eyes wide and excited. Susan had obtained complimentary tickets for them to sit at ringside, and it was clearly the highlight of young Sammy’s life to that point—maybe even Allie’s. Susan had assisted Allie in finding a job and they had located a cozy little apartment that Allie and Sammy could call home. Allie hadn’t wanted to return to the home she used to share with Jake. Since the district attorney’s office had indicted Jake Boudreaux on charges of attempted first degree murder, she didn’t have to worry about him anymore. He would be sitting in jail until his trial, at which time he would go away for at least fifty years. After reviewing the evidence against him and his past criminal record, his attorney was already talking plea deals, but the DA wouldn’t agree to anything unless Jake remained in prison until he was too old to hurt anyone again.
As the referee called both women to the center of the ring to begin round two, Damian yelled, “Take her to the ground—for God’s sake, do it!”
Susan bit down hard on her mouthpiece and swatted at a stream of blood that had started leaking from her nose. Her jaw was set and her eyes bore straight into Ivanov. I’d seen that look before, and I was suddenly afraid for the Russian.
As soon as the bell rang, Ivanov lunged forward with an overhand right that Susan deftly ducked under. Susan spun around to face Ivanov’s back. Instead of taking the Russian to the ground, Susan waited for her to turn.
“Jump on her!” Damian screamed, but his cries were lost in the roar from the crowd, who appreciated Susan’s willingness to stand and trade with the legendary striker.
As the two fighters came together, Ivanov landed a wicked left hook to Susan’s jaw, but Susan shot a right hand over the hook that landed flush on the Russian’s chin. As Ivanov reeled backward out of punching range, Susan switched stances to southpaw and delivered a left roundhouse kick to the Russian’s jaw that resounded throughout the arena and brought screaming fans to their feet. Ivanov’s hands and head went instantly limp and she fell like a giant tree. When she crashed to the canvass, she lay still.
Still in the moment, Susan charged forward—limping just a little—and had to be nearly tackled by the referee, who spun her away from Ivanov and then dropped to check on the unconscious former champion.
I was on my feet, jumping up and down like a young boy who had just scored his first homerun. Thin arms wrapped around me and I looked down to see Susan’s mom hugging me, tears of joy and relief streaming down her face. I hugged her and looked up. Susan was clinging to the top of the cage pointing in my direction. “I did it!” she screamed. “I actually did it! Now we can start having kids!”
Go to the beginning of this series now…
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NOVELS BY BJ BOURG
Clint Wolf Mysteries
But Not Forgotten
But Not Forgiven
But Not Forsaken
But Not Forever
But Not For Naught
But Not Forbidden
But Not Forlorn
But Not Formidable (Oct/Nov 2018)
But Not For Love (Jan/Feb 2019)
But Not Forborne (Apr/May 2019)
Magnolia Parish Mysteries
Hollow Crib
Hollow Bond
London Carter Mysteries
James 516
Proving Grounds
Silent Trigger
Bullet Drop
Elevation
Blood Rise
Stand-Alone YA Mystery
The Seventh Taking
About the Author
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BJ Bourg is an award-winning mystery writer and former professional boxer who hails from the swamps of Louisiana. Dubbed the "real deal" by other mystery writers, he has spent his entire adult life solving crimes as a patrol cop, detective sergeant, and chief investigator for a district attorney's office. Not only does he know his way around crime scenes, interrogations, and courtrooms, but he also served as a police sniper commander (earning the title of "Top Shooter" at an FBI sniper school) and a police academy instructor.
BJ is a four-time traditionally-published novelist and his debut novel, JAMES 516, won the 2016 EPIC eBook Award for Best Mystery. Dozens of his articles and stories have been published in national magazines such as Woman's World, Boys' Life, and Writer's Digest. He is a regular contributor to two of the nation's leading law enforcement magazines, Law and Order and Tactical Response, and he has taught at conferences for law enforcement officers, tactical police officers, and writers. Above all else, he is a father and husband, and the highlight of his life is spending time with his beautiful wife and wonderful children.
http://www.bjbourg.com
